1. Technical Field
The present embodiments relate generally to the field of railroad couplers, and more specifically, to the manufacturing of a railway coupler knuckle.
2. Related Art
Railcar couplers are disposed at each end of a railway car to enable joining one end of such railway car to an adjacently disposed end of another railway car. The engageable portion of each of these couplers is known in the railway art as a knuckle.
Typically a knuckle is manufactured with three cores, commonly referred to as a finger core in the front portion of the knuckle, pivot pin core in the center of the knuckle, and a kidney core at the rear of a knuckle. The finger core and kidney core reduce the weight of the knuckle. Still, knuckles can weigh about 80 pounds, and must be carried from the locomotive at least part of the length of the train during replacement. This distance can be anywhere from 25 up to 100 or more railroad cars in length.
Coupler knuckles are generally manufactured from cast steel using a mold and the three cores. During the casting process itself, the interrelationship of the mold and three cores disposed within the mold are critical to producing a satisfactory railway freight car coupler knuckle. Many knuckles fail from internal and/or external inconsistencies in the metal through the knuckle. If one or more cores move during the casting process, then some knuckle walls may end up thinner than others resulting in offset loading and increased failure risk during use of the knuckle.
Furthermore, multiple thin ribs have been located within a front face section associated with a finger cavity at the front of the knuckle. These multiple, thin ribs are known to be a source of premature failure of the couple knuckles so designed.